Dominant Sri Lanka Head Into Final Unbeaten

Dominant Sri Lanka Head Into Final Unbeaten

Sanath Jayasuriya (centre) hits out during his innings.

©REUTERS/Andrew Caballero-Reynolds (SRI LANKA SPORT CRICKET) Picture Supplied by Action Images

Sri Lanka 307-6 (Jayasuriya 98, Kandamby 91no) beat
India 168 (Dravid 47, Mathews 6-20) by 139 runs
Scorecard
Compaq Cup tri-series game three, Colombo

Stunning innings from Sanath Jayasuriya and Thilina Kandamby and then a six-wicket haul from Angelo Mathews helped Sri Lanka secure a 139-run win over India in game three of the Compaq Cup tri-series in Colombo.

Both sides had already qualified for the final but the home side left no one in any doubt as to which team goes into the match as favourites with a dominant display right from the moment that Kumar Sangakkara won the toss and chose to bat to the dismissal of Ishant Sharma.

India were bowled out for 168 after Sri Lanka had piled up 307 for six with Jayasuriya and Kandamby reaching the 90s. Jayasuriya smashed 98 in 79 balls at the start of the innings and Kandamby cashed in at the death, crashing 11 fours in his unbeaten 91 in 73 deliveries.

The next best score was Chamara Kapugedera's 36 and India offered up 15 extras, ten of them coming from wides as they failed to find the form with the ball that saw them hammer New Zealand one day earlier.

India reached 32 before the wickets began to tumble, Dinesh Karthik the first to go for 16 and although starts for the top four gave them some hope, they were blown away by Mathews.

Sachin Tendulkar made 27, Rahul Dravid 47 and Yuvraj Singh 16 before medium pacer Mathews took control of the game by dismissing Dravid, Suresh Raina for a golden duck, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (8), Yusuf Pathan (1), Harbhajan Singh (4) and Ashish Nehra (1).

He finished with figures of six for 20, leaving Ajantha Mendis to complete the game by having Sharma caught by substitute Upul Tharanga.

The final is on Monday at the R Premadasa Stadium.

© Cricket World 2009

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